July 25, 2005 -- Lexington , KY. -- In an exclusive WhatTheyThink Webinar sponsored by Exstream Software and Kodak, attendees learned how successful print service providers are leveraging variable data printing. WhatTheyThink.com's Cary Sherburne was joined by Robert Reeder, Chief Information Technology Officer for W. A. Wilde, and Jim Liszewski, President and COO, of WMSG, Inc. Both companies are long-time participants in the variable data space. You can view the webinar archive here:
http://members.whattheythink.com/home/webinar050721.cfm
"We have been talking about explosive growth for variable data printing for ten years," said Sherburne. "But now a convergence of factors has created what I call 'The Variable Data Printing Perfect Storm,’ with much improved customer databases, the availability of a variety of channels of communication, and the growing popularity of combining transactional documents with highly targeted marketing messages to improve marketing return on investment."
In speaking about the paradigm shift required to be successful with variable data printing, W. A. Wilde’s Reeder said, "Variable data printing is data centric, not document centric; and the key to success is to educate the buyer as to the types of benefits they can achieve by combining data, business rules, content and printed and electronic communications to deliver targeted messages." WMSG’s Liszewski added this advice: "The equipment is the easy part. It is important to ensure that you have a solid business plan and talented direct marketing staff to help you successfully carry out these types of programs."
Reeder also believes that in the future, document self-assembly will become the norm, with business rules utilizing data to automatically select content, organize the document and assign a look and feel. He also predicted that both sound and video on demand will increasingly become mainstream.
The presentation, including audio, can be accessed at no charge by visiting
http://members.whattheythink.com/home/webinar050721.cfm
Watch for future WhatTheyThink educational webinars through the balance of the year.
About Exstream
Headquartered in Lexington, KY, Exstream Software helps businesses around the world connect with their customers through higher quality, fully personalized customer communications delivered by mail, email and the Internet. Companies in the financial services, insurance, service bureau, telecommunications, utilities and other industries benefit from as much as 85 percent faster time to market, up to 80 percent reduced costs and increased revenue through improved customer retention.
For more information about Exstream Software and its market-leading Dialogue and AFP Studio technology, visit www.exstream.com, or contact Exstream at 859-296-0600 or info@exstream.com.
About Kodak
Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, print and view images –for memories, for information, for business, and for entertainment. With sales of $13.5 billion in 2004, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on four businesses: Digital & Film Imaging Systems – providing consumers, professionals and cinematographers with digital and traditional products and services; Health – supplying the medical and dental professions with traditional and digital imaging and information systems, IT solutions and services; Graphic Communications – providing customers with a range of solutions for prepress, traditional and digital printing, and document scanning and multi-vendor IT services; and Display & Components – supplying original equipment manufacturers with imaging sensors as well as intellectual property and materials for the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and LCD display industries. More information about Kodak is available at www.kodak.com.
About WhatTheyThink.com
WhatTheyThink.com is the print and publishing industry's leading online community. The company offers a mixture of free and subscription-based content for industry executives. Additionally, WhatTheyThink.com provides a robust content syndication program serving related web sites.
About Cary Sherburne
Cary Sherburne is a well-known journalist, author and strategic marketing consultant working primarily with the printing and publishing industry. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ms. Sherburne was the Vice President of Marketing Communications and Outsourcing Solutions at IKON Office Solutions. Her tenure in the printing and publishing industry has also included sales, marketing and management roles at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, Xerox Corporation, Indigo America and Bitstream. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, a regular contributor to WhatTheyThink.com and has written three books, available through the National Association for Printing Leadership ( www.napl.org). Sherburne can be reached at cary@SherburneAssociates.com or www.SherburneAssociates.com.